Labour Of My Love
by SarcasticFangirlFromDownBelow
Summary: A re-write of the ending of Wrath of the Titans. Includes spoilers (duh). May also have some adult themes in the future, you have been warned. Zeus/Hades.
1. Call Me A Sinner

**A/N: Guess who's back? Back again! Nyx is back, with a new fanfic! ...That doesn't rhyme. Anyhow, I recently watched Wrath of the Titans and couldn't get the movie out of my head, instead I ended up shipping Zeus and Hades even more. Of course, the directors had to utterly crush my heart by killing off like half the characters and including way too much Hades angst. So obviously I had to write a fanfic to fix my broken feels. I know it's quite short but I hope you enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Wrath of the Titans (or Clash of the Titans), if I did Zeus would still be alive and he and Hades would be kissing it out somewhere. Nor do I own the song Call Me by Shinedown (which I recommend you listen to because it is AMAZING).**

* * *

 _Wrap me in a bolt of lightning_  
 _Send me on my way still smiling_  
 _Maybe that's the way I should go_  
 _Straight into the mouth of the unknown_  
 _I left the spare key on the table_  
 _Never really thought I'd be able to say_  
 _I merely visit on the weekends_  
 _I lost my whole life and a dear friend_

* * *

Hades watches with sunken eyes as his brother's strength seeps away and he collapses completely, his last breath escaping him and turning him into dust, his remnants swept away by the wind. And though his expression betrays nothing, Hades feels a part of him dissipate along with Zeus, he feels the pain of his brother's loss clawing at his chest and he turns away quickly, a stinging feeling building behind his eyelids as he suppresses a yell of frustration and pain. He can't allow himself to break down, not here, not now. So he straightens and puts on a blank mask, nodding once to Perseus- who mercifully lets him go despite their history, a feat Hades can't help but admire- and summoning the last remnants of his strength, transports himself back to the Underworld.

And only when Hades is back in the Underworld- funny that the place that had been his prison for so long now served as a refuge- only when he is alone again, alone with the darkness and the shadows, only then does he allow himself to let go. Agony washes over him like a heavy torrent of acid and lava as the truth finally settles: Zeus is gone. His brother is no longer alive. And he helped kill him. He is the reason Zeus is dead.

A broken cry rips itself from his throat as the phrase pounds endlessly against his skull- _you killed him, you killed him, you killed your own brother-_ and Hades twists around sharply, lashing out at his surroundings with a blind rage; tearing, burning, pillaging and destroying until there is nothing left. Nothing but dust and shadows. Drained, Hades slumps awkwardly to the ground, his hands barely managing to keep him in a sitting position. His breathing is heavy and labored and his vision swims out of focus, his armor is torn and broken and he has gashes and cuts all over his arms and torso. Not that he minds particularly, the pain is a welcomed distraction.

Something wet runs down his face and hits the floor. Instinctively Hades raises his hand to his cheek to wipe away the blood, but his hand doesn't come back coated in red. Instead, the trace of a tear glistens on his finger tips. Hades stares with wide eyes at his hand, momentarily stunned. Crying. He was crying. But no, that couldn't be possible, he couldn't possibly be... gods never cried. Hades especially, he was the lord of the dead after all, the god of the Underworld, ruthless and cold, in fact many thought he could not feel at all. And yet...

 _Zeus._

Hades can't hold himself back any longer, he feels his will crumbling and all of a sudden his pent up fury is gone and his powers are wasted. His plans, kingdom and family lie in tatters and it is all his fault. A sob escapes him, and then he is crying, really crying, great sobs racking his body and gasps that could have been words escaping his throat without his permission. So he cries, he cries for the death of Poseidon- another murder he was responsible for, another family member he had hurt, he cries for Hephaestus who had been his only friend and had gotten banished for aiding him, he cries because he is alone again and he cries for Zeus. Zeus, who sacrificed himself so that he would live, who still loved him after eons of bitterness and violence, who had expressed his remorse for his many wrong doings even as Hades stood scheming his downfall. He cried until he was exhausted and couldn't cry anymore.

"I forgive you brother..." he murmurs, repeating what he had uttered at Zeus' bedside before the final battle, "I forgive you. But do you forgive _me_?"

* * *

 _I finally put it all together_  
 _But nothing really lasts forever_  
 _I had to make a choice that was not mine_  
 _I had to say goodbye for the last time_  
 _I've said it so many times_  
 _I would change my ways, no never mind_  
 _God knows I've tried_

 _Call me a sinner, call me a saint_  
 _Tell me it's over, I'll still love you the same_  
 _Call me your favorite, call me the worst_  
 _Tell me it's over, I don't want you to hurt_  
 _It's all that I can say_  
 _So I'll be on my way, so I'll be on my way_  
 _So I'll be on my way_

* * *

 **A/N: Stay tuned for the next chapter and don't forget to leave a review!**


	2. Wake Me Up Inside

**A/N: I literally feel as if I am writing this story only for myself. Oh well. But if anyone is out there, hope you enjoy this and don't forget to R &R!**

 **Disclaimer: Still own nothing. As always.**

* * *

 _"There will be no more sacrifices." Zeus had said, "No more gods."_

 _But that wasn't true. Because Hades was still alive. And he was about to make a sacrifice._

* * *

The spell had been a difficult one to conjure, the power for the magic even more so. But now Hades had access to both Mount Olympus and the Underworld, all the other gods had wasted away or fled in fear, so he had plenty of resources at hand. Even so, putting together the incantation and the ingredients took far longer than Hades would have liked.

* * *

The Underworld was a ruin of thick, half-dried lava and debris. Half of the labyrinth sealing the entrance to Tartarus had been torn apart and the other was slowly beginning to crumble, enormous boulders and rocks groaning in protest as they were ripped away from the maze and tossed carelessly into the abyss below. Hades' palace- if it could be called that- was a burning wreck of crumpled, spiked walls that very much resembled a giant stack of toppled domino pieces. Overall it appeared as if a monstrous hurricane had accumulated and swept through Hell, this was only partly true, as the hurricane was much less a natural phenomenon and more a furious Titan taking his revenge against his children who had defeated him and locked him away in Tartarus. At the thought of the Titan Lord of Time Hades shuddered, a mixture of cold fear and boiling rage engulfing his form. Their father would pay for the part he had played in the downfall of his brother.

Olympus too was in shambles- the divine glow of the gods seemingly having seeped out of the once bright marble halls. The silver columns were cracked and had been overturned like an army of dying warriors- most nothing more than a pile of dusty rubble, and the thrones of the Olympians were broken and dilapidated. Dried blood was splattered across many of the rooms and an eerie sort of silence hung over the ghost mountain. The whole place was a mere phantom of its former glory, and a tiny part of Hades couldn't help but be filled with satisfaction at the sight of his traitorous family's home as broken and demolished as his own. However the feeling was quickly swept away by guilt and a twinge of sorrow, how would his brother feel if he returned? Surely he would be distressed at the sight. Then Hades realized his mistake. _No, not if,_ he admonished himself, the spell would work, it had to, _when he returned._

* * *

Hades stared with an almost contemplative look at the jagged blade in his hand. Though his expression was calm, his arm trembled slightly and the knife shook along with it. A weak orange light glinted off the dagger's razor edges as it caught the rays of the flickering torches positioned around him. Hades exhaled slowly, his eyes shutting as he brought the blade to his wrist. He had done it, he had found a way to bring his brother back, and this was the final ingredient to his spell... the blood of a god.

For a split second Hades hesitated then he tensed and shoved the knife deep into his forearm, a river of crimson immediately beginning to gush from the wound. Biting his tongue to cover up a cry of pain, he quickly begins to chant the incantation for the spell.

"Factum est autem et suus 'iam aetas aliquid suus' iniuriam sed quia non possunt habere diuturnitatem!"

As soon as he finished speaking, a billowing mass of foggy smoke erupted from the ground beneath him and began to spin in a circular formation above his head. A piercing wail, like the yowl of some rabid animal, tore trough the air like a spear and Hades resists the urge to clap his hands over his ears, he can't afford to mess anything up with the spell still in progress. The noise quickly becomes increasingly more and more deafening and the cloud of sickly white and pitch black ash that had engulfed every inch of the space around him seemed to have sped up, until it was nothing more than a blur of spinning mist.

Hades quickly began to lose track of the amount of time that he had stayed barely upright in the middle of the fog tornado, but he could feel his power slowly decreasing. Plus the shrill screaming noise (which he still didn't know the source of) was becoming rapidly unbearable.

Swaying dangerously from the effort of keeping himself on his feet, Hades appears almost half-dead with weariness. He can feel his blood and energy steadily flowing from his body and knows it will not be long before he blacks out, he just hopes the spell will be completed by then. Suddenly Hades lurches forwards violently, as if some giant invisible hand knocked him over. He staggers weakly for a moment before yielding under the weight of the magic and his exhaustion; and he collapses heavily onto the ground, his breathing becoming wild and heavy. The spell had reached its climax. And it was ripping him apart from the inside out.

White and black spots dance across his vision and a mix of fatigue and nausea grip his shaking form in a tight death-grip. Then, just as he feels his hold on reality fading away to a dull buzz, a blinding lustrous light sweeps through the Underworld like the aftershock of an earthquake. The noise that had threatened to turn his brain to liquid was cut off as sharply and as suddenly as it had started and the column of acrid vapor that had previously engulfed him had evaporated into nothing. He had done it. The spell was complete.

Then just before the darkness engulfed him and he was pulled into unconsciousness, a familiar blurred figure leaned over him. Hades could see his lips moving but he couldn't hear what he was saying. And after that he was falling, falling into endless blackness with only one thought in his mind.

 _Zeus._

* * *

 **A/N: Well it wouldn't be one of my stories if there wasn't a cliff hanger now would it? Constructive criticism is much appreciated, I know this fanfic is crappier than most of my others so any details on how to improve are welcomed. Also apologies if my next post is late, my muse has abandoned me and this chapter was almost impossible to write so I've kind of been rushing through this story : /**


	3. The Labour Of My Love

**A/N: Apologies for the late update, I just haven't had many ideas for this story. Anyway, here's the next chapter, remember to R &R!**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing except the horrible SPaG and many mistakes.**

* * *

It took a while for Zeus to register what had happened. One moment he was in the destroyed remnants of the desert, having defeated his father Kronos and then... then he had died. The memory was blurry at best, but he remembered the pain, then cold and darkness, and then nothing. Except it wasn't nothing anymore. After what seemed like an instant but could have been days, months or years, he'd felt rather than seen a light, and then he was conscious again. Disorientated, confused and slightly sore but _alive_. Question was, how exactly?

He racked his still slightly throbbing brain for an answer, a memory, anything. And only then did it come to him. The look Hades had given him just before he had died, the light that hadn't been light at all but the powerful energy of magic and the voice that he knew so well but thought he had dreamed up- Hades. Hades had revived him. Hades, who never let anyone leave the Underworld, who believed most firmly that what was dead should stay dead and who hated him with not unjustified bitterness, had broken one of the oldest and most sacred of laws to bring him back. Zeus felt a smile tug at his lips and a long forgotten warmth filled his chest, but the feeling was quickly overridden by a sudden fear.

If Hades had revived him... then where was he?

Zeus scanned the shadows around him anxiously, for once wishing he had his brother's ability to utilize and manipulate the darkness, but there was no sign of Hades. Then Zeus heard a quiet groan. It was muffled and choked, and for a moment Zeus thought he had imagined it, but as he picked his way to the source of the sound he could just about make out the slightly distorted but unmistakable figure of his bother.

"Hades..." Zeus breathed as he rushed to kneel beside his brother, he quickly checked for a pulse and let out a shaky sigh of relief when he felt the weak but steady beat, "Oh you idiot, what did you do?" He demanded, his feelings conflicted between anger, fear and joy. Hades didn't respond, but that wasn't surprising. Zeus wasn't Apollo by a long shot but even he could tell Hades was in a very fragile state, perhaps even a coma.

"Right..." Zeus muttered, looking around contemplatively. It was obvious he had to help but Hades, but he had no resources or knowledge of healing magic, and he had just come back from the dead so his powers were as good as gone. Not to mention that the Underworld was in the process of imploding in on itself. Zeus looked at Hades again, his eyes seemed to be magnetically drawn to the other god, and even with utter havoc surrounding them, he marveled at how sublime Hades appeared.

 _Now is not the time,_ Zeus growled at his brain, _get a hold of yourself_. Carefully, he hefted up Hades' body so he was holding him bridal style. Zeus frowned at how light he felt, then cursed himself for not noticing how malnourished his brother had gotten, and for not being caring or attentive enough to do something about it. Then he teleported away.

The cave he arrived at wasn't a random choice, and looking at his and his brothers' childhood home- if it could be called that- still made a lump grow in his throat, but he quickly swallowed it down, now was not the time to get emotional. He busied himself with re-arranging the inside of the cave, so that it appeared less gloomy and foreboding but more inviting and cheerful, like it had millennium ago when Hades, Poseidon and he were young, reckless and never argued.

He knew Hades probably wouldn't be all that pleased to find himself away from the Underworld, despite it being his prison in the past he had become fairly fond of it. He would be even less pleased to find that Zeus, and thus subsequently Hades, had taken up residence in their old home before the war with Kronos. Not that Zeus could really blame him, the place held a lot of bittersweet memories, for the both of them. And he imagined that despite his sacrifice, Hades would still hold some old resentment for him regarding their past, and once again, Zeus could find no one to blame for that but himself.

"Hades. I am so sorry." Zeus murmurs as he sits beside his brother, he had uttered those very same words not long ago, and wished he had said them earlier. Zeus had meant what he had said then and meant it even more now. He was truly sorry, but this time not just for banishing Hades, and not just because he needed Hades' help to escape, this time it was because he had caused Hades pain and in spite of that, Hades had saved him, and risked his own life to do so.

"I am sorry. So, so sorry. You hear me Hades? I'm apologizing for everything, so wake up you moron, and gloat about it. Say you forgive me and that I'm a fool... please."

* * *

The last thing Hades remembered was darkness. He had finished the spell, he had brought his brother back, and finally the pain and exhaustion took its toll. Then there had been only darkness. Not that Hades particularly minded this, he was accustomed to it, even welcomed it, and if felt as natural as breathing to him. But at the same time he couldn't help but think something wasn't right, he felt as if something was missing, like he had something to do. But both his memory and semi-conscious state of mind were fading fast, however he could have sworn that there'd been someone there, someone he knew, someone important, someone- Zeus.

The name sent a shock wave of electricity and emotions through him, and suddenly it felt as if he had risen up from the water after swimming towards the light for too long, and that's when he heard the voice.

"-I'm apologizing for everything, so wake up you moron, and gloat about it. Say you forgive me and that I'm a fool... please."

Hades struggled for a moment, knowing what to say but unable to formulate the words, "I forgive you, brother." He whispered eventually, dark eyes blinking groggily but finally open. Instinctively he had known it was Zeus, and he didn't know how but that gave him the strength to wake and speak.

Zeus' head snapped up to stare at him so quickly he would have broken all the bones in his neck were he not immortal. Zeus didn't say anything, he simply wrapped his brother in a bone crushing hug and didn't let go. For a while they lay content like that, Zeus murmuring 'brother' and 'sorry' every now and again, to which Hades smiled and gave no reply save tightening his grip. It was blissfully silent, and the two gods basked in each other's warmth and company, like they had done so many millennium ago.

Though Hades accepted Zeus' apology he was still at war with himself, should he let the other god back into his life? Should he pull away and leave? Zeus must have felt his internal battle- and their bond did run deep enough for that- or perhaps he had developed the ability of mind reading, because he suddenly secured his hold on Hades, making sure the other god couldn't escape. His embrace unlocked something in the darker god, and though he had made the same decision before and been horribly betrayed, Hades relaxed in Zeus' arms. He would stay.

All was tranquil for a moment, then, "You were right."

Zeus raised an eyebrow, not knowing if he should be more worried about Hades' sly smile or the fact he had just admitted Zeus had been right about something of his own free will.

"You are a fool."

Zeus just laughed.

* * *

 **A/N: I know the characters are OOC, but a lot of this fanfic will differ somewhat from the canon because I tend to stick with the correct interpretations of the myths rather than movies and spin-offs. Also I've always imagined Hades as a mega hot, emo teenager with a thing for leather jackets and Zeus as a young male model with a tan and a six pack, not as 30-40 year old men. So yeah... *ducks bricks and runs away* don't judge me!**


End file.
